Damien Dempsey to play two dates at Iveagh Gardens in summer 2025

Eva Osborne

Damien Dempsey will return to to the Iveagh Gardens for two shows next July 11th and 12th, with tickets going on sale for €45 on Wednesday at 9am through Ticketmaster.

His new studio album, Hold your Joy, features 16 new songs, and marks his first album of new music since Soulsun in 2017.

Dempsey said Hold your Joy came from a "great book" that lifted him when he was "down in the dumps" - the Book of Joy by Douglas Abrams.

"He got two wise men together to talk about the importance of trying to stay grateful and joyful, these two men had lived through wars and oppression in their native lands, exile and apartheid, but maintained that you can do far more good for the world and those around you and yourself, if you try and stay grateful and joyful through it all, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu were the two wise men, everyone on earth needs to read this book, or hear it," Dempsey said.

Dempsey's song-writing career spans more than 25 years and has seen him perform with luminaries such as Sinead O’Connor, John Grant, Imelda May, The Dubliners, Lisa O’Neil, Maverick Sabre as well as supporting the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Morrissey, and Willie Nelson on tour.

In 2023, Dempsey performed 20 critically acclaimed sold out shows at the Abbey Theatre with 'Tales from the Holywell’.